ALBANY – The “No Excuses” push, designed to help pass proposed property tax cuts for millions of New Yorkers, was launched on Wednesday by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The initiative includes a new website, www.CutPropertyTaxes.ny.gov, featuring information on the Governor’s plan to cut property taxes, statements of support from elected officials and advocacy groups across the state and resources for visitors to contact their state legislators to make their voices heard. In January, at both the State of the State Address and Executive Budget presentation, the Governor outlined his plan to freeze property taxes for two years and create a “circuit breaker” that will provide tax relief based on an individual or family’s ability to pay. Both of these programs are part of the Governor’s broader proposal to deliver approximately $2 billion in tax relief to New Yorkers.

The proposal will:

Freeze property taxes for working families:

Create a property tax “circuit breaker” based on ability to pay:

“High property taxes have been the number one burden on New York’s families and businesses. Right after I took office we capped property taxes to stop skyrocketing hikes that were driving people from this state. Now we need to lower property taxes and we need your help to do it,” said Governor Cuomo. “Every year, passing our agenda has depended on New Yorkers getting involved, picking up the phone and making their voices heard. Today we are encouraging all New Yorkers who are tired of paying too much in property taxes to join our effort to lower property taxes this year.’

As a result of fiscal reforms from the last three years, the State is projected to go from a $10 billion deficit when the Governor took office to a $2 billion surplus by 2016-17. Rather than using this revenue to increase spending, Governor Cuomo proposed to instead cut taxes for families and businesses to provide taxpayers relief and grow the economy. The proposals have been informed by the hard work of the bi-partisan New York State Tax Reform and Fairness Commission and the New York State Tax Relief Commission led by Former Governor George Pataki and Former Comptroller H. Carl McCall. For more information click here.

By almost any measure, New York’s real property taxes are the highest in the nation with an average residential bill of $5,040—Westchester County is ranked first in terms of absolute dollars, and Wayne County is ranked first as a percentage in terms of home value. One of the main reasons is the large number of local governments that place high burdens on taxpayers and harm the business climate. New York State has approximately 10,500 local government entities – from cities, towns, and villages down to water, sewer, and lighting districts, among others. Many such districts overlap with other municipal taxing entities. For example, Erie County has the most local governments in the State, with 1,044 total governments, representing an annual tax levy of $1.6 billion. Since January 1, 2011, only two villages have voted on and executed a dissolution.